See why Kenyan teachers drink heavily and are absent from classes

- Kenyan teachers on the spot after a World Bank study consistently implicates them in absconding duty and being drunkards

Kenyan teachers are drunkards and spend significant amount of time away from classrooms, according to a new report released on Wednesday March 2, 2016.

Absence from the classroom by the teachers is linked to the high dropout rates and poor academic performance by students, especially those from public schools, according to the 2015 National Adolescent and Youth Survey.

The teachers resort to heavy drinking and absenteeism from work because of a low pay and poor economic situation, the report seen by The Standard states.

Dropout rates were common among children aged 14 to 19 years mostly in upper primary and secondary schools.

The findings of this report appear consistent with those of 2014 where similar conclusions about teacher absenteeism were reached that a fifth of schools surveyed had a teacher absence rate of between 20% and 40%, and for a tenth of schools it was 40%.

But the most shocking revelation by that report was teachers who are present at school but absent from class.

It further states that senior teachers in public schools, who are also better educated and more experienced are most likely to be absent from class and this applies to those who come from districts where they teach as well.